Your hometown is boring

I don't know which town you call home, but I bet I know something about it. It's pretty lame, right? Nothing to do? Nowhere to go? \nWell don't move just yet. I've come to the conclusion that every town, every city, whether there's one stoplight or a five-lane highway, whether there's a population of 5,000 or 5 million, is boring at some time of the night. It may be 8 o'clock, it may be midnight, but some time, even in the most bustling metropolis, you will find yourself in the same situation. \nYou will stare at your friends. They will stare back. Your eyes, glazed over in self-sympathy, will roll in exasperation until someone finally chooses to state the obvious.\n"There. Is. NOTHING. To. Do."\nAnd you'll regret being born in (blank)ville, USA. \nWhat is it, though, that we all wish we were doing when we're not? What is this infinitely entertaining activity that goes on in every city but our own? When the stores are closed, the last movie has played, the concerts are over and you've already eaten, what's left? \nIf you think about it, it's really no surprise that everyone ends up at the Wal-Marts/Steak 'N Shakes/Waffle Houses of the world. But it is funny that we continue to believe that somehow, somewhere, there is something else. \nThis tragic misconception, this idea that our location should provide us with perpetual amusement, ends up smearing the perception of the social activities we do end up choosing. We're disappointed when we're forced to end up at one of the aforementioned 24-hour haunts. We smirk at the thought of going to bed any earlier. And we'd rather die than be the square who's playing Trivial Pursuit on a Saturday night.\nWhich brings me to another epiphany: board games are secretly cool. \nSince we have always believed that there is something to do, board games have seemed terribly boring in comparison. But now if we operate under the assumption that there is, in fact, nothing to do, board games can be regarded as a perfectly legitimate activity. \nAm I merely attempting to qualify my lifelong affection for Scattergories?\nPerhaps. \nBut really, why should drinking beer and doing nothing be socially "cooler" than drinking beer and playing Scrabble? Or Dominoes? Or Hungry Hungry Hippos?\nI've had evenings of Cranium and chocolate cake that were just as fun as a night of college debauchery. But you don't even have to give that up. Just add a deck of cards to it. A little rummy with your gin, so to speak. If you've got nothing to do, do something else. Then, at least, you'll be doing something. \nBoard games aren't all that innocent, anyway. Did you know a certain 99 hour game of Monopoly took place in a bathtub? That the word "Scrabble" means "grope frantically?" That Yahtzee only caught on when its marketer starting throwing "yahtzee parties?" All true, according to Hasbro.\nNo activity, from quilting to algebra, can be more boring than doing nothing at all. If our lame hometowns have taught us anything, it's that you have to make your own fun. Your preschool teacher might have provided you with an exciting activity for every minute of the day, but no lackluster town ever will. \nThere are no craft tables in real life. \nSo find something else to do.